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The Auto Tech That Mattered at CES

LAS VEGAS — A handful of forward-thinking automakers have infiltrated the halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center, recognizing that in a smartphone-dominated world, the car is the ultimate mobile device.

The automotive tech at CES 2013 spanned the spectrum from the ridiculously ambitious to the tragically banal. As we've noted before, CES is a hardware show stuck in a software world, a point driven home in the automotive booths filling the North Hall. There were apps, apps and more apps.

Gotta-have gear from the automakers and the aftermarket was few and far between, but a few bright spots did shine through. Some of it's coming soon and some of it will never be more than show-car eye candy, but all of it will slowly reshape your experience behind the wheel.

Photo: Ariel Zambelich/Wired

Volvo's Android-Based Touchscreen Retrofit

Buy a car, and you're stuck with the same infotainment system. Forever. Volvo aims to change that with a touchscreen retrofit for any of its post-2010 vehicles equipped with the company's 7-inch Sensus screen.

It's a collaboration between Volvo, Ericsson and Parrot that lets owners have their dealer install a small interface module in the glove box and an infrared screen overlay that adds touch capabilities — in addition to the standard knob and joystick controls currently fitted to the XC60 SUV to the S60 sedan.

Beyond the hardware upgrades, the software gets a much-needed kick in the pants with a combination of Ericsson's cloud-connected system that access data through a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone and a version of Android tweaked by Parrot to provide Google Maps (or alternatively iGo) navigation, access to the Parrot Asteroid app store and streaming music from Deezer, TuneIn and Spotify, the first automotive application of the subscription music service.

The retrofits will be available from dealers in May. This new system forms the basis of Volvo's infotainment options at the end of the year.

Photo: Volvo

MirrorLink, Siri Comes to JVC/Kenwood

MirrorLink has been promising a seamless connectivity experience between your smartphone and your head unit for years, and we're finally starting to see the fruits of the Car Connectivity Consortiums labor. At least in the aftermarket.

JVC is showing off two new receivers that interface with Android and Symbian (yeah, Symbian), with the former utilizing Samsung DriveLink to connect the head unit to the Galaxy S III. Plug it in and a car-friendly UI pops up to access music, navigation and phone functionality.

If you're in the Apple ecosystem, the new head units can connect with your iPhone 4 or 4S over App Link Mode, and Siri integration has finally arrived to the aftermarket as well, although details on its implementation are still scarce.

Photo: JVC

Texas Instruments' Slick Center Stack

Texas Instruments is deploying its DLP technology to create the next-generation centerstack display/interface. While not quite as sexy as the 17-inch display in the Tesla Model S, the new TI dashboard display offers several innovations.

Using the company’s new Jacinto 6 processor, the display provides for multipoint touchscreen interactivity across the console’s entire surface. The display can be scaled to any size and shape and even include curves. It also allows for full-color, high-res video, animations and static images to show vehicle info, navigation, entertainment and HVAC controls, which can be reconfigured to suit the driver and passenger. The screen has sensors that determine whether the driver or passenger’s hands are approaching the console and adjust the images and available functions accordingly for safety — and possibly shut off certain functions that the driver wouldn’t have access to, but the passenger would.

Image: Texas Instruments

Subaru Starlink

Subaru has been seriously hurting for a modern infotainment system, but the brand loved by snow-entrenched Northeasterners finally has a solution called Starlink.

Developed by Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries, it's not the sexiest of systems, but gets the job done with revamped mapping graphics and the integration of Aha, which plumbs NPR, Slacker radio, MOG, Rhapsody, CBS news and thousands of podcasts through a stand-alone app. Throw in Yelp and weather, along with Facebook and Twitter news feeds, and it's a comprehensive package that finally brings Subaru into the 21st century. If just.

Photo: Subaru

Inrix Global Parking Navigation Service

If you think about it, you shouldn't set the restaurant as the destination in your navigation system. You should have it direct you to the nearest parking spot. That's what Inrix is doing with the world's first parking navigation service.

Rather than providing a static list of parking lots that could be full by the time you get there, Inrix Parking provides real-time updates on available spaces and detailed location information for off-street parking. The data is pulled in through your smartphone's data connection and provide by ParkMe and Parkopedia, with over 18,000 facilities in North America and another 42,000 throughout Europe.

Kenwood is the first company to incorporate the system into its head units, so it's strictly an aftermarket affair for now, but a dedicated smartphone app is surely in the works.

Photo: Inrix

Garmin K2 Platform

Garmin isn't just about navigation units stuck on your dash. The company supplies components to nearly every automaker on the planet, and at CES it's showing off its next-generation infotainment platform that combines navigation, vehicle diagnostics, email, text messaging, music and real-time data.

A 10-inch multitouch screen dominates the center of the dashboard, while a reconfigurable 12-inch instrument panel takes the place of traditional gauges. A dual-core ARM processor partners with a Jacinto 5-Eco processor and the OMAP 5TM from Texas Instruments powers it all, rendering 3-D, photorealistic buildings and a UI entirely designed using HTML5.

Voice controls read out text messages and e-mails; parking, traffic, weather and fuel prices are all beamed down through a data connection; and customized interfaces provide everything from calendar appointments to music playlists in one incredibly slick package. Now Garmin just needs to get an automaker to sign on the dotted line...

Image: Garmin

Harman Takes Over BMW ConnectedDrive

BMW has been at the forefront of in-car connectivity for over a decade, and it's pushing even further with its latest partnership with Harman.

The auto supplier is showing off BMW's latest ConnectedDrive system at CES, complete with 3-D city models, a bevy of new location-based services and simplified voice controls and user interactions.

"One-shot" voice commands for everything from address entry to POI searches are standard, along with dictation for short e-mails and text messages, and better Twitter and Facebook integration. Add in a new 1280 x 480 display and 1.3GHz processor — all of which have been lightened to keep weight in check — and new 3, 5 and 7 Series owners have a lot to look forward to.

Photo: Harman

Aha Gaining Traction

We've mentioned Aha already, but the proliferation of the standalone entertainment app at CES deserves another mention.

Aha is a sort of portal for content that allows automakers to easily integrate the service into their existing infotainment offerings. To that end, Porsche has a Cayenne GTS equipped with the app, allowing users to stream podcasts, audiobooks, Slacker and MOG radio and some 30,000 channels (from CNN to NPR) of content directly into their car. And this year Aha is incorporating Google into its system, giving drivers the ability for targeted POI searches and get relevant, location-based results in seconds. Along with Porsche, Aha is now available in Subaru, Honda, Ford and Chrysler, along with a few aftermarket head units, and is set to expand even further in 2013.